Interfacing event detectors with a network interface

ABSTRACT

Techniques and systems are provided for interfacing one or more event detectors coupled by a common interconnect with a network interface. Interconnect signals indicative of events detected by the one or more event detectors using sensor data are propagated on the common interconnect. A monitor device indirectly or directly couple to the common interconnect monitors the interconnect signals. Information about a first event detector of the one or more event detectors is inferred, in part, from the interconnect signals and transmitted via the network interface.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates generally to interfacing existing eventdetectors that may be undiscoverable by network nodes with a networkinterface. Examples of such event detectors include conventional smokedetectors that are typically interconnected by a common physical medium.By interconnecting conventional smoke detectors with the common physicalmedium, each of the smoke detectors may generate an alarm whenever anyof the smoke detectors detect an event. Conventional smoke detectorsaccomplish with signals propagating on the common physical medium.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts an example operational environment for implementingaspects of the present invention.

FIG. 2 depicts an example operational environment for implementingaspects of the present invention.

FIG. 3 depicts an example of an event detector usable with aspects ofthe present invention.

FIG. 4 depicts an example of a monitor device in accordance with aspectsof the present invention.

FIG. 5 depicts an embodiment of a method for interfacing event detectorswith a network interface.

FIG. 6 depicts another embodiment of a method for interfacing eventdetectors with a network interface.

FIG. 7 depicts another embodiment of a method for interfacing eventdetectors with a network interface.

FIG. 8 depicts another embodiment of a method for interfacing eventdetectors with a network interface.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example cloud-based serverthat may be used in accordance with aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an example general purpose computingsystem in which embodiments of the invention may be implemented.

FIG. 11 depicts an example of an interconnect signal propagated on acommon interconnect usable with aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 12 depicts an example of an interconnect signal propagated on acommon interconnect usable with aspects of the present invention.

FIGS. 13A-13C depicts various embodiments of aspects of a monitor devicethat monitors a signal as depicted for example in FIG. 2 .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Various aspects of the technology described herein are generallydirected to systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media for,among other things, interfacing event detectors with a networkinterface. As used herein, “connected device” refers to a device havingnetwork connectivity that is configured to communicate with othercomputing devices via one or more networks (e.g. network 150 of FIG. 1). That is, a connected device is capable serving as an endpoint,connection point, and/or a redistribution point of a communicationsession communicatively coupling the connected device with one or morecomputing nodes of a network. In contrast, “unconnected device” refersto a device lacking network connectivity that is not configured tocommunicate with other devices via one or more networks. In anembodiment, an “event detector” is an unconnected device.

Furthermore, although the terms “step,” “block,” or “component,” etc.,might be used herein to connote different components of methods orsystems employed, the terms should not be interpreted as implying anyparticular order among or between various steps herein disclosed unlessand except when the order of individual steps is explicitly described.As such, the examples provided are not intended to suggest anylimitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the presentinvention. Neither should the examples provided be interpreted as havingany dependency or requirement relating to any single component orcombination of components depicted.

The present disclosure describes particular embodiments in terms ofdetailed construction and operation to meet statutory requirements. Theembodiments described herein are set forth by way of illustration onlyand not limitation. Those skilled in the art will recognize, in light ofthe teachings herein, that there may be a range of equivalents to theexemplary embodiments described herein. Most notably, other embodimentsare possible, variations can be made to the embodiments describedherein, and there may be equivalents to the components, parts, or stepsthat make up the described embodiments. For the sake of clarity andconciseness, certain aspects of components or steps of certainembodiments are presented without undue detail where such detail wouldbe apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the teachings hereinand/or where such detail would obfuscate an understanding of morepertinent aspects of the embodiments.

According to an aspect of the subject matter, a system is provided forinterfacing one or more event detectors coupled by a common interconnectwith a network interface. The system monitors interconnect signalspropagating on the common interconnect that are indicative of eventsdetected by the one or more event detectors. The system also analyzesthe interconnect signals to generate interconnect data associated with afirst event detector of the one or more event detectors. Theinterconnect data being information about the first event detectorinferred, in part, from the interconnect signals. Furthermore, thesystem transmits the interconnect data to a remote client: via thenetwork interface.

In another embodiment, a computer-implemented method is provided forinterfacing one or more event detectors coupled by a common interconnectwith a network interface. The method includes receiving data from afirst monitor device monitoring interconnect signals indicative ofevents detected by the one or more event detectors propagating on thecommon interconnect. The method also includes analyzing the datareceived from the first monitor device to generate a status reportassociated with a first event detector of the one or more eventdetectors. The status report including information about the first eventdetector inferred, in part, from the interconnect signals. The methodfurther includes transmitting the status report to a remote client viathe network interface.

In another embodiment, a system is provided for interfacing one or moreevent detectors coupled by a common interconnect with a networkinterface. The system receives data associated with interconnect signalspropagating on the common interconnect at a server. The system alsoanalyzes received data to generate a status report associated with afirst event detector of the one or more event detectors. The statusreport including information about the first event detector inferred, inpart, from the interconnect signals. Furthermore, the system transmitsthe status report to a remote client via the network interface.

Turning to FIG. 1 , an example operational environment for implementingaspects of the subject matter is depicted and referenced generally bydesignator 100. For instance, monitor device 130 may implement methods500 and 600 of FIGS. 5 and 6 , respectively. The components shown inFIG. 1 are a few of the components that embodiments of the presentinvention may interact with during operation. Accordingly the componentstherein are described with an emphasis on function and in brief for thesake of simplicity. One skilled in the art will recognize thatoperational environment 100 is but one example of a suitable operationalenvironment for implementing aspects of the invention. As such, system100 is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use orfunctionality of the invention.

Operational environment 100 includes event detector 110, monitor device130, server 140, and client device 160. Each of the components includedin operational environment 100 are operatively coupled to each other asappropriate for carrying out their respective functions. For example,event detector 110 is interconnected with one or more event detectors(not shown) via a common physical medium (common interconnect 120) thatis adapted to propagate interconnect signals among the event detectors.Also, monitor device 130, server 140, and client device 160 areconfigured to communicate data via network 150. In an embodiment, eventdetector 110 is incapable of communicating data via network 150. In anembodiment, operational environment 100 also includes switch 170 androuter 180 to facilitate communication via network 170. In anembodiment, one or more of the functionalities described below withrespect to monitor device 130 may be implemented in switch 170, router180, or a combination thereof. Various embodiments of aspects of monitordevice 130 are further described herein below with respect to FIGS.13A-13C.

Event detector 110 is configured to detect at least one event associatedwith a physical environment proximate to event detector 110's location.Examples of suitable devices for implementing event detector 110 includea motion detector, a gas detector, a radio frequency (“RF”) detector, asmoke detector, a presence detector, and the like. Event detector 110detects the at least one event using sensor data indicative of aphysical quantity associated with the physical environment. The sensordata that event detector 110 uses to detect the at least one event isprovided by one or more sensors associated with event detector 110. Inan embodiment, the one or more sensors include an internal sensorcontained within a housing of event detector 110. Responsive todetecting the at least one event, event detector 110 causes an alertindicator associated with event detector 110 to generate a sensorynotification that alerts nearby observers of the detected event. As usedherein, “sensory notification” refers to sensory stimuli capable ofbeing perceived by one or more senses of an observer.

Event detector 110 is further configured to forward an interconnectsignal to the one or more event detectors via common interconnect 120.In an embodiment, an interconnect signal corresponds to an alert

The interconnect signal configured to inform the one or more eventdetectors that event detector 110 has detected an event. In operationalenvironment 100, interconnect signals are propagated among the eventdetectors to enable each of the event detectors to generate a sensorynotification when any single event detector (e.g. event detector 110)detects an event. That is, each event detector among the one or moreevent detectors utilize interconnect signals to communicate to theremaining event detectors that an event was detected. Examples ofinterconnect signals are discussed below with respect to FIGS. 11-12 .Accordingly, event detector 110 is configured to cause the alertindicator to generate a sensory notification in response to receiving aninterconnect signal via common interconnect 120.

Monitor device 130 is generally configured to monitor interconnectsignals associated with event detector 110 by interfacing with commoninterconnect 120. In an embodiment, monitor device 130 directlyinterfaces with common interconnect 120. For example, monitor device 130may be directly hardwired to common interconnect 120. In an embodiment,monitor device 130 indirectly interfaces with common interconnect 120thereby electrically isolating monitor device 130 from commoninterconnect 120. For example, monitor device 130 may indirectlyinterface with common interconnect 120 using optical, inductive,capacitive, or similar isolation coupling techniques.

Monitor device 130 is further configured to generate interconnect databased at least in part on interconnect signals propagating along commoninterconnect 120. As used herein “interconnect data” refers toinformation about an event detector inferred, in part, from interconnectsignals propagating on a common physical medium interconnecting theevent detectors. In an embodiment, interconnect data includesinformation about event detector 110's alarm status. For example,interconnect data may include information indicating that event detector110's alarm status is activated (i.e. event detector 110 detected anevent), non-activated (i.e. event detector 110 has not detected anevent). In an embodiment, the interconnect data includes furtherinformation about the event detected by event detector 110. For example,what type of event was detected, where the event was detected, and thelike. As another example, when multiple event detectors areinterconnected via interconnect 120, interconnect data may includeinformation about which event detector among the multiple eventdetectors detected an event.

In an embodiment, interconnect data includes information about an eventdetector's operational status. For example, interconnect data mayinclude information indicating that event detector 110's operationalstatus is fully functional, degraded functionality, non-functional, andthe like. In an embodiment, monitor device 130 generates interconnectdata that includes identifying information about event detector 110. Forexample, monitor device 130 may infer event detector 110's manufacturer,model number, configuration, and the like.

In an embodiment, monitor device 130 is configured to generateinterconnect metadata based at least in part on secondary dataassociated with the interconnect data. As used herein “interconnectmetadata” refers to information providing context to interconnect datathat monitor device 130 obtains from sources external to the commoninterconnect. For example, interconnect metadata may include time stampinformation, sensor data provided by sensors unassociated with eventdetector 110, a confidence value associated with current interconnectdata derived from previous interconnect data, and the like.

Monitor device 130 is further configured to communicate any combinationof interconnect data and interconnect metadata (if available) vianetwork 150 to one or more devices for further processing. For example,monitor device 130 may communicate any combination of interconnect dataand interconnect metadata to server 140 for further processing. In anembodiment, monitor device 130 communicates such data via network 150 ona continuous basis. In an embodiment, monitor device 130 communicatessuch data via network 150 on a periodic basis. In an embodiment, monitordevice 130 receives a predefined interval (e.g. every 5 minutes, 12minutes, hour, 2 hours, etc.) for the periodic basis from a remoteclient (e.g. server 140 or client device 160). In an embodiment, monitordevice 130 communicates such data via network 150 in response todetermining a predefined criterion is met. Examples of predefinedcriterion include event detector 110 detecting an event, event detector110's operational status changes, a confidence value associated withcurrent interconnect data falls below a predetermined threshold, and thelike. In an embodiment, monitor device 130 communicates such data inresponse to a request from a remote device.

Server 140 provides computing resources to remote clients (e.g. monitordevice 130 and client device 160) via network 150. Server 140 may beimplemented using one or more computing devices each composed ofwell-known hardware components such as one or more processors coupled tonetwork interfaces and storage devices. In an embodiment, a computingdevice further includes a virtualization component (e.g. hypervisor orvirtual machine monitor) permitting a plurality of computing devices toshare underlying physical hardware of the computing device. The one ormore processors of server 140 execute various software components (e.g.computer executable instructions) loaded from non-transitory storagedevices. By executing the software components, the one or moreprocessors are configured to perform various functionalities on behalfof the remote clients.

In an embodiment, server 140 is a cloud-based server providing a sharedpool of configurable computing resources to remote clients as a service.That is, server 140 may be implemented with a service-orientedarchitecture in which software components executing on hardwareresources associate with server 140 provide services to other softwarecomponents executing on remote devices (e.g. monitor device 130 andclient device 160). Examples of such services provided by server 140include infrastructure services, platform services, software applicationservices, or a combination thereof. In an embodiment, any combination ofinterconnect data, interconnect metadata, and any other datacorresponding to the interconnect signals propagating along commoninterconnect 120 is stored on server 140. In an embodiment, server 140processes any combination of interconnect data, interconnect metadata,and any other data corresponding to the interconnect signals propagatingalong common interconnect 120 for client device 160's consumption.

Network 150 represents any communication network that enables computingdevices to exchange data. Network 150 may include a combination ofdiscrete networks that may use different communication protocols, but isdepicted in simple form to not obscure other aspects of the presentinvention. For example, network 150 may be implemented using a cellularnetwork, a WiFi/broadband network, a local area network (LAN), a widearea network (WAN), a telephony network, a fiber-optic network, theInternet, or a combination thereof.

Client device 160 represents a computing device that is adapted toexchange data with another computing device via network 150. Somelower-level details of client device 160 are not shown so as to notobscure embodiments of the present invention. For example, client device160 may include a bus that directly or indirectly couples the followingdevices: memory; one or more processors; one or more presentationcomponents such as a display or speaker; input/output (I/O) ports; I/Ocomponents; and a power supply such as a battery.

Client device 160 may take on any of a variety of forms. By way ofexample, client device 160 may be a mobile telephone, smart phone,laptop computing device, desktop computing device, server, tabletcomputer, personal digital assistant (PDA), or any other computingdevice. Client device 160 may be associated with a user. The user is theperson submitting instructions and interacting with client device 160.Operational environment 100 may include any number of client devices. Asingle client device is shown for the sake of simplicity.

FIG. 2 depicts an operational environment for implementing aspects ofthe present invention is depicted and referenced generally by designator200. For instance, base station 290 may implement methods 700 and 800 ofFIGS. 7 and 8 , respectively. In an embodiment, the components ofoperation environment 200 operate in a similar manner as the componentsof operation environment 100 unless indicated otherwise. Event detectors110A and 110B are interconnected via a common physical medium (commoninterconnect 120) that is adapted to propagate interconnect signalsamong the event detectors. In operational environment 200, base station290, server 140, and client device 160 are configured to communicatedata via network 150. In an embodiment, the event detectors (110A and110B) as well as the monitor devices are incapable of communicating datavia network 150.

Base station 290 and one or more monitor devices (e.g. monitor devices130A and/or 130B) communicate data via communication links 295. In anembodiment, the one or more monitor devices are communicatively coupledvia a communication link 295. Communication links 295 each represent oneor more bidirectional communication paths that communicatively couplethe one or more monitor devices and/or base station 290. In anembodiment, communication link 295 includes at least one wireless linkgoverned by a wireless communication protocol. Examples of such wirelesscommunication protocols include Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Z-Wave, Bluetooth,Bluetooth Low Energy, Near-Field Communications, and the like. In anembodiment, communication link 295 includes at least one wired linkgoverned by a wired communication protocol. Examples of such wiredcommunication protocols include Ethernet, ATM, Token Ring, FDDI, and thelike. In an embodiment, communication link 295 includes atelecommunication link governed by a telecommunication protocol.Examples of such telecommunication protocols include CDMA, EvDO, GPRS,TDMA, GSM, WiMax technology, LTE, LTE Advanced, and the like.

Base station 290, in general, serves as an end access point for remoteclients (e.g. server 140 or client device 160) to consume informationassociated with interconnect data via network 150. In operationalenvironment 200, a remote client establishes a communication sessionwith a network interface of base station 290. Base station 290 and theremote client exchange communications regarding interconnect data withinthe communication session. For example, base station 290 may receive analert instruction from a remote client within a communication sessionvia the network interface. As another example, base station 290 maycommunicate a status report associated with one or more of the eventdetectors to the remote client within the communication session via thenetwork interface.

Base station 290 receives information associated with interconnect datafor remote clients to consume using data received from one or moremonitor devices. Similar to monitor device 130 of FIG. 1 , the one ormore monitor devices of operational environment 200 monitor interconnectsignals propagating on a common interconnect coupling one or more eventdetectors. In an embodiment, the monitor devices analyze theinterconnect signals propagating on the common interface and the datareceived by base station 290 is any combination of interconnect data andinterconnect metadata.

In an embodiment, the one or more monitor devices do not analyze theinterconnect signals propagating on the common interface and the datareceived by base station 290 is raw data representing the interconnectsignals. In an embodiment, base station 290 generates any combination ofinterconnect data and interconnect metadata based in part on its ownanalysis of the raw data. In an embodiment, base station 290 generatesany combination of interconnect data and interconnect metadata based inpart on its own analysis of the raw data and secondary data receivedfrom a second monitor device (e.g. monitor device 130B). In anembodiment, base station 290 generates any combination of interconnectdata and interconnect metadata based in part on its own analysis of theraw data and secondary data received from a sensor not associated withthe one or more monitor devices.

In an embodiment, at least two monitor devices among the multiplemonitor devices are interfaced with different event detectors. In anembodiment, at least two monitor devices among the multiple monitordevices are interfaced with different common interconnects. In anembodiment, base station 290 provides computing resources to the one ormore monitor devices. Examples of such computing resources includeprocessing resources, communication resources, storage resources, or acombination thereof. For example, base station 290 may provide monitordevice 130A with storage resources to store historical data associatedwith the interconnect signals propagating along the common interconnect.As another example, base station 290 may provide monitor device 130Bwith communication resources to directly communicate with client device160 (or vice versa).

FIG. 3 depicts an example of an event detector 110 suitable to implementthe functionalities described above with respect to event detector 110of FIG. 1 . As illustrated by the embodiment depicted in FIG. 3 , eventdetector 110 includes sensor 310, controller 320, alert indicator 330,and interface 340. In an embodiment, event detector 110 also includesinternal power source 350, data store 360, or a combination thereof.

Sensor 310 is configured to measure a physical quantity associated witha physical environment proximate event detector 110. Upon measuring thephysical quantity, sensor 310 converts the physical quantity into sensordata representative of the physical quantity. Examples of sensor 310include an electrical sensor, an electrochemical sensor, a tactilesensor, a photoelectric sensor, a pressure sensor, a pyroelectricsensor, a fluid velocity sensor, a radiation sensor, a mechanicalvariation sensor, and the like. In an embodiment, event detector 110includes a plurality of sensors with two or more sensors among theplurality of sensors being configured to measure different physicalquantities associated with an environment proximate to event detector110.

Controller 320 is generally configured to detect one or more eventsassociated with a physical environment proximate a location of eventdetector 110 based on sensor data provided by one or more sensors (e.g.sensor 310). In an embodiment, controller 320 is configured to detect anevent by executing a custom application stored in memory (e.g. datastore 360) communicatively coupled to controller 320. Responsive todetecting an event, controller 320 is configured to generate aninterconnect signal indicative of the detected event. In an embodiment,controller 320 is configured to generate a plurality of uniqueinterconnect signals with each unique interconnect signal among theplurality corresponding to a particular detected event.

Controller 320 forwards the interconnect signal to one or more alertindicators (e.g. alert indicator 330) to generate a sensorynotification. In an embodiment, controller 320 is configured to select aparticular alert indicator among the one or more alert indicators toforward the interconnect signal. Controller 320 is further configured toforward the interconnect signal via interface 340 to a common physicalmedium (e.g. common interconnect 120 of FIG. 1 ). As discussed abovewith respect to FIG. 1 , the common physical medium couples eventdetector 110 with one or more event detectors. By forwarding theinterconnect signal to the common physical medium, controller 320enables at least one event detector to likewise generate a sensorynotification to indicate detection of an event.

Alert indicator 330 is configured to generate the sensory notificationin response to receiving an interconnect signal from controller 320. Forexample, event detector 110 may be a smoke event detector. In thisembodiment, alert indicator 330 may generate a conventional smoke alarmsound in response to receiving an interconnect signal indicative of adetected smoke event. In an embodiment, alert indicator 330 isconfigured to generate a sensory notification in response to eventdetector 110 receiving an interconnect signal via interface 340. In anembodiment, alert indicator 330 is configured to generate amulti-sensory notification capable of being perceived by a plurality ofthe observer's senses. For example, a multi-sensory notification may beimplemented as a combination of optical and acoustic waves. A sensorynotification is characterized by one or more attributes, such as afrequency, a duty cycle, an amplitude, a periodicity, and the like. Inan embodiment, a sensory notification includes a message component thatprovides specific information about a detected event. For example, ifevent detector 110 is a smoke event detector, the sensory notificationmay include a message component stating that smoke has been detected inthe specific location of the smoke event detector. Continuing with thisexample, the message component may further provide routing informationto enable an observer to identify a safe means of egress.

Interface 340 is configured to couple event detector 110 to an externalpower source and other event detectors. As illustrated by FIG. 3 ,interface 340 includes power interface 342 and input/output (“I/O”)interface 344. Power interface 242 is configured to operatively coupleevent detector 110 with an external power source thereby enabling eventdetector 110 to receive electrical energy from the external powersource. I/O interface 344 is configured to communicatively couple eventdetector 110 with the common physical medium. I/O interface 344 therebyenables propagation of the interconnect signals between event detector110 and the one or more interconnected event detectors via the commonphysical medium. In an embodiment, interface 340 is a standardthree-wire interconnect. In an embodiment, interface 340 includescomponents that perform signal conditioning operations that modify theinterconnect signals propagating through I/O interface 344. Examples ofsignal conditioning operations include amplification, filtering,isolation, conversion, and the like.

In an embodiment, event detector 110 includes internal power source 350that provides electrical energy to event detector 110. In an embodiment,internal power source 350 serves as a primary source of electricalenergy for event detector 110. In an embodiment, internal power source350 serves as an auxiliary power source for event detector 110. In anembodiment, internal power source 350 stores electrical energy receivedvia power interface 342.

In an embodiment, event detector 110 includes data store 360 providinginternal data storage capabilities to event detector 110. In anembodiment, a custom application configuring controller 320 to detect anevent is stored in data store 360. In an embodiment, data store 360aggregates at least one dataset composed of historical data associatedwith event detector 110, such as sensor data, interconnect signals,alert signals, and the like. In an embodiment, data store 360 storesmetadata associated with sensor data, interconnect signals, alertsignals, or a combination thereof. For example, metadata may include atimestamp, location data, source identifying information, samplingintervals, sensor data type, and the like.

Turning to FIG. 4 , an example of a monitor device 130 suitable forimplementing embodiments of the present disclosure is depicted. In anembodiment, monitor device 130 is suitable to implement thefunctionalities described above with respect to monitor device 130 ofFIG. 1 . As shown, monitor device 130 includes interconnect interface410, data store 420, processor 430, analytics circuitry 440,communication circuitry 450, power circuitry 460, and control circuitry470. In an embodiment, monitor device 130 includes a subset ofcomponents depicted in FIG. 4 . For example, in some embodiments monitordevice 130 may be implemented without actuator 470.

Interconnect interface 410 is configured to interface monitor device 130with a common interconnect to monitor interconnect signals associatedwith one or more event detectors (e.g. event detector 110 of FIG. 1 ).In an embodiment, interconnect interface 410 is configured to directlyinterface monitor device 130 with the common interconnect. In anembodiment, interconnect interface 410 is configured to indirectlyinterface monitor device 130 with the common interconnect. In anembodiment, monitor device 130 interfaces with secondary data sourcesvia interconnect interface 410 to obtain secondary data usable togenerate interconnect metadata.

Data store 420 is configured to provide internal data storagecapabilities to monitor device 130. In an embodiment, interconnectsignals obtained via interconnect interface 410 are stored locally bymonitor device 130 in data store 420. In an embodiment, data store 420aggregates at least one dataset composed of historical data associatedwith interconnect signals monitored by monitor device 130, such aspreviously obtained interconnect signals, secondary data, and the like.In an embodiment, data store 420 stores metadata associated with sensordata, interconnect signals, alert signals, or a combination thereof.Examples of such metadata include a timestamp, location data, sourceidentifying information, sampling intervals, sensor data type, and thelike.

Processor 430 is generally configured to execute processor executableinstructions, data structures, program modules and other data tangiblystored in computer storage media (e.g. data store 420) communicativelycoupled to monitor device 130. In an embodiment, processor 430 enablesmonitor device 130 to implement one or more functionalities describedherein by executing such processor executable instructions. For example,processor 430 may execute processor executable instructions toinstantiate one or more functionalities associated with analyticscircuitry 440.

It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that thefunctionality of monitor device 130 implemented through processorexecutable instructions may readily be converted into a hardwareimplementation by well-known design rules in the electrical engineeringand software engineering arts. For example, the functionality of monitordevice 130 described herein can be converted into a hardwareimplementation using application-specific integrated circuits,microcontrollers, field programmable gate arrays, digital signalprocessors, and the like. Those skilled in the art will likewiserecognize that the functionality of monitor device 130 may readily beimplemented through a hybrid approach composed of combination ofhardware and software techniques.

Analytics circuitry 440 is generally configured to analyze dataassociated with interconnect signals obtained by monitor device 130 froma common interconnect. Analytics circuitry 440 includes data retrievalservice 442, inference service 444, context service 446, and contextservice 448. In an embodiment, one or more of the functionalities ofanalytics circuitry 440 are implemented by at least one processor of abase station (e.g. base station 290 of FIG. 2 ). In an embodiment, oneor more functionalities of analytics circuitry 440 are implemented by atleast one processor of a remote server (e.g. server 140 of FIG. 1 orcloud-based server 900 of FIG. 9 ).

Data retrieval service 442 is configured to retrieve data associatedwith the interconnect signals as directed by processor 430, and providesuch data to the other services of analytics circuitry 440 for furtherprocessing. In an embodiment, data retrieval service 442 retrieves atleast a portion of the data from data store 420. In an embodiment, dataretrieval service 442 retrieves at least a portion of the data frominterconnect interface 410. In an embodiment, data retrieval service 442is configured to retrieve secondary data associated with theinterconnect signals from interconnect interface 410.

Inference service 444 is configured to receive input data associatedwith interconnect signals from data retrieval service 442, machinelearning service 448, or a combination thereof and generate interconnectdata. Inference service 444 outputs the interconnect data to a networkinterface via communication circuitry 450. In an embodiment, inferenceservice 444 determines one or more characteristics of an interconnectsignal associated with an event detector using input data received fromdata retrieval service 442. As used herein, “characteristics of aninterconnect signal” refers to measurable physical properties of theinterconnect signal. For example, measurable physical properties mayinclude electrical properties (e.g. resistance, reactance, voltage,current, phase, resonant frequency, etc.) or observable patterns (e.g. arepeated sequence of changes in the electrical properties). For example,inference service 444 may compare a voltage associated with aninterconnect signal at a current time to a voltage value associated withthe interconnect signal at a prior time. As another example, inferenceservice 444 may identify a repeated pattern of phase shifts associatedwith an interconnect signal.

In an embodiment, the input data from data retrieval service 442includes information associated with the interconnect signals providedby a second monitor device (e.g. monitor device 130B of FIG. 2 ).Inference service 444 may generate interconnect data by comparing one ormore characteristics of the interconnect signals from the informationprovided by the second monitor device with comparable information asmeasured by monitor device 130. For example, inference service 444 maycompare a current value of an interconnect signal as provided by thesecond monitor device with a current value of the interconnect signal asmeasured by monitor device 130. Inference service 444 may generateinterconnect data based on the results of that comparison.

In an embodiment, inference service 444 may generate interconnect databy applying information associated with an interconnect signal receivedfrom data retrieval service 442 as an input to a machine learned modelreceived from machine learning service 446. For example, inferenceservice 444 may input information associated with an interconnect signalat a current time from data retrieval service 442 into a machine learnedmodel trained using previously obtained information associated with theinterconnect signal. The machine learned model may generate interconnectdata based on that input.

In an embodiment, the information output by inference service 444 isinformation about at least one event detector's alarm status. Forexample, inference service 444 may determine an event detector's alarmstatus is activated. That is, the event detector has detected an eventassociated with a physical environment proximate a location of the eventdetector. As another example, inference service 444 may determine anevent detector's alarm status is inactivated. That is, the eventdetector has not detected an event associated with a physicalenvironment proximate a location of the event detector.

In an embodiment, the information output by inference service 444 isinformation about at least one event detector's operational status. Forexample, inference service 444 may determine an event detector'soperational status is fully functional. That is, inference service 444may determine the event detector is functioning properly (e.g. the eventdetector is fully powered or substantially operating without apparentfault).

As another example, inference service 444 may determine an eventdetector's operational status is degraded. That is, inference service444 may determine the event detector is functioning less than fullyfunctional, but more than non-functional (e.g. the event detector is notfully powered or operating with apparent faults). As another example,inference service 444 may determine an event detector's operationalstatus is non-functional. That is, inference service 444 may determinethe event detector has ceased functioning (e.g. the event detector lostpower or ceased operating).

In an embodiment, the information output by inference service 444 isidentifying information about at least one event detector. As discussedabove, examples of identifying information include the event detector'smanufacturer, model number, configuration, and the like. For example,inference service 444 may compare one or more characteristics of aninterconnect signal associated with an event detector at a current timewith an interconnect signal associated with the event detector at aprior time.

As another example, inference service 444 may compare one or morecharacteristics of an interconnect signal associated with a first eventdetector at a current time with an interconnect signal associated with asecond event detector. In an embodiment, the interconnect signalassociated with the second event detector is from the current time. Inan embodiment, the interconnect signal associated with the second eventdetector is from a prior time.

As another example, inference service 444 may compare one or morecharacteristics of an interconnect signal associated an event detectorat a current time with a model interconnect signal. In an embodiment,the model interconnect signal is obtained from a machine learned modeltrained with historical data associated with the event detector. In anembodiment, the model interconnect signal is obtained from a machinelearned model trained with historical data associated a plurality ofevent detectors. In an embodiment, the model interconnect signal isreceived via a network interface.

Context service 446 is configured to receive input data from dataretrieval service 442, inference service 444, or a combination thereofand generate interconnect metadata. In an embodiment, context service446 is configured to utilize a machine learned model received frommachine learning service 448 to generate interconnect metadata. In anembodiment, context service 446 is configured to generate interconnectmetadata by analyzing data collected from a plurality of devices (e.g.monitor devices, event detectors, etc.).

In an embodiment, context service 446 generates interconnect metadatausing secondary data received from data retrieval service 442 inresponse to receiving interconnect data from inference service 444. Forexample, inference service 444 may generate interconnect data for anevent detector (e.g. a smoke detector) at a current time. In thisexample, the interconnect data may indicate that the event detector'salarm status is activated (i.e. the event detector has detected an eventproximate its location). Upon receiving the interconnect data, contextservice 446 acquires sensor data from a temperature sensor external tothe event detector at a location proximate to the event detector at thecurrent time. Context service 446 may generate interconnect metadataindicative of the sensor data associated with the interconnect data.

Continuing with this example, the sensor data from the temperaturesensor may indicate that a temperature of the location is normal roomtemperature. Context service 446 may further generate a low confidencevalue upon receiving sensor data from a sensor external to the eventdetector that is inconsistent with the detected event. Context service446 may generate interconnect metadata indicative of the low confidencevalue associated with the interconnect data. As another example, contextservice 446 may receive interconnect data generated by inference service444 based in part on interconnect signals. Upon receiving theinterconnect data, context service 446 acquires time stamp informationfrom data retrieval service 442 to determine a current time. In thisexample, the sensor data from the temperature sensor may indicate that atemperature of the location is normal room temperature.

In an embodiment, context service 446 generates interconnect metadatausing historical data received from data retrieval service 442 inresponse to receiving interconnect data from inference service 444. Forexample, context service 446 may receive interconnect data for an eventdetector at a current time from inference service 444. In response,context service 446 may acquire historical data associated with theevent detector from data retrieval service 442. Upon analyzing thehistorical data associated with the event detector, context service 446may determine that the previous events detected by the event detectorwere identified as false alerts. Context service 446 may generateinterconnect metadata indicative of the event detector's history offalse alerts associated with the interconnect data.

In an embodiment, context service 446 generates interconnect metadatadirectly from interconnect data received from inference service 444. Forexample, context service 446 may receive interconnect data for an eventdetector that indicates the event detector's alarm status is activatedand operational status is degraded. In response, context service 446 maygenerate interconnect metadata indicative of the degraded operationalstatus of the event detector for the interconnect data. In anembodiment, a reduced confidence score may be used to indicate thedegraded operational status.

Machine learning service 448 is configured to train machine learnedmodels using training data obtained from data sets composed ofhistorical interconnect signal data received from data retrieval service442. Once trained, the machine learned models may be used by inferenceservice 444 and/or context service 446 to generate interconnect data andinterconnect metadata, respectively. Machine learning service 448 mayemploy any known artificial intelligence, machine learning,knowledge-based, or rule-based mechanisms to train machine learnedmodels. Examples of such mechanisms include support vector machines,neural networks, expert systems, Bayesian belief networks, fuzzy logic,data fusion engines, classifiers, and the like.

In training the machine learned models (e.g. find optimal values of formodel parameters), machine learning service 448 may use an objectivefunction to measure the performance of the models using a subset of thetraining data as a function of the model parameters. For example,optimal values of the parameters of a model may be determined by findinga minimum of the objective function. As another example, multipleiterations of a stochastic gradient descent procedure may be performedto find the optimal values of the parameters. In an embodiment, themachine learning model is composed of a single level of linear ornon-linear operations. In an embodiment, the machine learning model is adeep network composed of multiple levels of non-linear operations. Forexample, the machine learning model may be a neural network with one ormore hidden layers.

Communication circuitry 450 is configured to communicatively couplemonitor device 130 with the one or more connected devices (e.g. monitordevice 130A, monitor device 130B, server 140, client device 160, andbase station 290 of FIGS. 1-2 ). Examples of devices usable to implementcommunication circuitry 450 include a network interface controller, amodem, various modulators/demodulators and encoders/decoders, wirelessinterface cards, wired interface cards, antennas, and the like. Monitordevice 130 may utilize communication circuitry 450 to exchange data(e.g. interconnect data, interconnect metadata, and raw data) with oneor more connected devices.

Power circuitry 460 includes various hardware and softwareconfigurations that operatively couples one or more components ofmonitor device 130 to a power source. As used herein, “coupled” includesdirect coupling and indirect coupling via another component, element,circuit, or module. For example, power circuitry 460 may be hard wiredto a power source or directly coupled to a power plug that is in turninserted into a corresponding component of the power source. Inembodiments where indirect coupling is used, the intervening component,element, circuit, or module may adjust a current level, a voltage level,and/or a power level associated with the power source. For example, aninductive coupling device may intervene between power circuitry 460 andthe power source. As another example, a capacitive coupling device mayintervene between power circuitry 460 and the power source.

In an embodiment, the power source is an internal power source. Examplesof internal power sources include a battery, a storage capacitor, asmall-scale energy source (e.g. piezoelectric, magnetic induction, orthermoelectric generators, energy harvesting devices, and the like. Inan embodiment, the power source is an external power source. Examples ofexternal power sources include one or more event detectors, power linesassociated with a common interconnect coupled to the one or more eventdetectors, an AC power outlet, a power storage device (e.g. a battery)proximate monitor device 130's location, an energy harvesting device,and the like.

Control circuitry 470 is exchange data with a controlling mechanism thatmanages, commands, directs, or regulates another device thereby causingthat device to take defined actions. Examples of controlling mechanismsinclude programmable logic controllers, microcontrollers, distributedcontrol systems, home automation hubs, and the like.

In an embodiment, control circuitry 470 exchanges data with acontrolling mechanism in response to a command from a remote clientreceived via a network interface. For example, a command may be receivedfrom a remote client (e.g. server 140 or client device 160 of FIG. 1 )via a network interface to turn off a gas valve. The command may bereceived in response to transmitting interconnect data to the remoteclient that indicates a smoke detector's alarm status is activated. Uponreceiving the command, control circuitry 470 may exchange data with acontrolling mechanism associated with the gas valve thereby causing thegas valve to move to a closed position.

In an embodiment, control circuitry 470 exchanges data with acontrolling mechanism in response to a command from processor 430, asecond monitor device, a base station associated with monitor device130, or a combination thereof. For example, a base station may receiveinterconnect data indicating that an event detector associated with anelectrical power feed has detected a loss of power event. Upon receivingthat interconnect data, the base station may send a command to activatean electrical generator. In response to that command, control circuitry470 may exchange data with a controlling mechanism associated with theelectrical generator to activate the electrical generator.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method 500 forinterfacing event detectors with a network interface. Method 500 may beperformed by a monitor device (e.g. monitor device 120 of FIG. 1 )interfaced with a common interconnect coupled to one or more eventdetectors. At step 510, the monitor device monitors signals associatedwith a first event detector propagating on the common interconnect. Inan embodiment, the monitor device is directly interfaced with the commoninterconnect. In an embodiment, the monitor device is indirectlyinterfaced with the common interconnect and thereby electricallyisolated from the one or more event detectors.

At step 520, the monitor device analyzes the signals propagating on thecommon interconnect to generate interconnect data. As discussed above,the interconnect data being information about event detectors that themonitor device infers, in part, from the signals propagating on thecommon interconnect. In an embodiment, the interconnect data includesinformation about the first event detector's alarm status. In anembodiment, the interconnect data includes information about the firstevent detector's operational status. In an embodiment, the interconnectdata includes identifying information about the first event detector.

At optional step 530, the monitor device generates interconnect metadatabased at least in part on secondary data associated with theinterconnect data. In an embodiment, the interconnect metadata includessignals associated with a second event detector propagating along thecommon interconnect. In an embodiment, the interconnect metadataincludes time stamp information associated with the interconnect data.In an embodiment, the interconnect metadata includes sensor dataprovided by sensors unassociated with the first event detector. In anembodiment, the interconnect metadata includes a confidence valueassociated with current interconnect data derived from previousinterconnect data.

At step 540, the monitor device communicates any combination of theinterconnect data and the interconnect metadata via a network interfaceto a remote client. In an embodiment, the remote client is a serviceexecuting on a remote server. In an embodiment, the remote server is acloud-based server. In an embodiment, the remote client is a serviceexecuting on a client device. In an embodiment, the monitor devicecommunicates any combination of interconnect data and interconnectmetadata on a continuous basis. In an embodiment, the monitor devicecommunicates any combination of interconnect data and interconnectmetadata on a periodic basis. In an embodiment, the monitor devicereceives a predefined interval for the periodic basis from the remoteclient. In an embodiment, the monitor device communicates anycombination of interconnect data and interconnect metadata upondetermining a predefined criterion is met. In an embodiment, the monitordevice communicates any combination of interconnect data andinterconnect metadata in response to a request from the remote client.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method 600 forinterfacing event detectors with a network interface. Method 600 may beperformed by a monitor device (e.g. monitor device 120 of FIG. 1 )interfaced with a common interconnect coupled to one or more eventdetectors. At step 610, the monitor device receives an alert instructionfrom a remote client via a network interface. The alert instruction ofstep 610 is associated with a request to cause at least one eventdetector among the one or more event detectors to generate a sensorynotification. In an embodiment, the alert instruction is unassociatedwith an event a first event detector is configured to detect. Forexample, the first event detector may be a motion detector configured todetect a motion event. In this example, the alert instruction may beassociated with a fire emergency event, which is unassociated with themotion event the first event detector is configured to detect. In anembodiment, the alert instruction is directed to a subset of the one ormore event detectors.

At step 620, in response to receiving the alert instruction, the monitordevice generates an alert signal adapted to cause the first eventdetector to generate a sensory notification. In an embodiment, themonitor device generates the alert signal based in part on monitoringsignals associated with the one or more event detectors propagating on acommon interconnect. In an embodiment, the monitor device generates thealert signal based in part on monitoring signals identified as beingassociated with the first event detector. In an embodiment, the alertsignal is adapted to cause the first event detector to generate amulti-sensory notification. In an embodiment, the alert signal specifiesat least one attribute characterizing the sensory notification. In anembodiment, the alert signal specifies a message component to beincluded in the sensory notification by the first event detector. In anembodiment, the monitor device generates an alert signal adapted tocause a subset of the one or more event detectors to generate sensorynotifications.

At step 630, the monitor device transmits the alert signal onto thecommon interconnect coupled to the one or more event detectors. Thealert signal of step 630 causing the first event detector to generate asensory notification in response to receiving the alert signal via thecommon interconnect. In an embodiment, a second event detector not amongthe subset of the one or more event detectors refrains from generatingsensory notifications in response to receiving the alert signal via thecommon interconnect.

At optional step 640, the monitor device transmits a confirmationmessage in response to transmitting the alert signal onto the commoninterconnect. In an embodiment, the monitor device confirms that thefirst event detector has generated the sensory notification requested bythe remote client prior to transmitting the confirmation message. In anembodiment, the monitor device transmits the confirmation message to theremote client sending the alert instruction. In an embodiment, themonitor device transmits the confirmation message to a remote serviceassociated with the remote client.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method 700 forinterfacing event detectors with a network interface. Method 700 may beperformed by a base station (e.g. base station 290 of FIG. 2 ) coupledto one or more monitor devices interfaced with a common interconnectcoupled to one or more event detectors. At step 710, the base stationreceives data from a first monitor device among the one or more monitordevices that monitor signals propagating along the common interconnect.In an embodiment, the data is received via a wired connectionintervening between the first monitor device and the base station. In anembodiment, the data is received via a wireless connection interveningbetween the first monitor device and the base station. In an embodiment,the data is raw data sent by the first monitor device without analyzingthe interconnect signals. In an embodiment, the data is any combinationof interconnect data and interconnect metadata that the first monitordevice generates in part by analyzing the signals propagating along thecommon interconnect.

At optional step 720 when the data is raw data, the base stationgenerates any combination of interconnect data and interconnect metadatabased in part on analyzing the raw data. In an embodiment, the basestation generates any combination of interconnect data and interconnectmetadata based in part on analyzing raw data received from a secondmonitor device among the one or more monitor devices. In an embodiment,the base station generates any combination of interconnect data andinterconnect metadata based in part on analyzing raw data received froma second monitor device. In an embodiment, the raw data received fromthe second monitor device corresponds to a second event detector amongthe one or more event detectors. In an embodiment, the base stationgenerates any combination of interconnect data and interconnect metadatabased in part on analyzing interconnect data or interconnect metadataassociated with the second event detector. In an embodiment, theinterconnect data or interconnect metadata associated with the secondevent detector is generated by the second monitor device.

At step 730, the base station analyzes the interconnect data to generatea status report associated with the first event detector. In anembodiment, the status report includes information about the first eventdetector's alarm status, information about the first event detector'soperational status, identifying information about the first eventdetector, or a combination thereof. In an embodiment, the status reportincludes context information derived from interconnect metadataassociated with the interconnect data. In an embodiment, the statusreport includes a confidence value associated with the interconnect dataused to generate the status report. In an embodiment, the status reportincludes information about the operational status of the first monitordevice, a subset of the one or more monitor devices, the one or moremonitor devices collectively, or a combination thereof.

At step 740, the base station communicates the status report via anetwork interface to a remote client. In an embodiment, the remoteclient is a session executing on a remote server. In an embodiment, theremote server is a cloud-computing platform. In an embodiment, theremote client is a mobile client device. In an embodiment, the basestation communicates the status report on a continuous basis. In anembodiment, the base station communicates the status report on aperiodic basis. In an embodiment, the base station receives a predefinedinterval for the periodic basis from the remote client. In anembodiment, the base station communicates the status report upondetermining a predefined criterion is met. In an embodiment, the basestation communicates the status report in response to a request from theremote client.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method 800 forinterfacing event detectors with a network interface. Method 800 may beperformed by a base station (e.g. base station 290 of FIG. 2 ) coupledto one or more monitor devices interfaced with a common interconnectcoupled to one or more event detectors. At step 810, the base stationreceives an alert instruction from a remote client via a networkinterface. The alert instruction of step 810 is associated with arequest to cause at least one event detector among the one or more eventdetectors to generate a sensory notification. In an embodiment, thealert instruction is unassociated with an event a first event detectoris configured to detect. In an embodiment, the alert instruction isdirected to a subset of the one or more event detectors.

At step 820, in response to receiving the alert instruction, the basestation generates an alert signal adapted to cause the at least oneevent detector to generate a sensory notification. In an embodiment, thebase station generates the alert signal based in part on data receivedfrom the one or more monitor devices regarding signals associated withthe one or more event detectors propagating on a common interconnect. Inan embodiment, the base station generates the alert signal based in parton monitoring signals identified as being associated with the at leastone event detector. In an embodiment, the alert signal is adapted tocause the at least one event detector to generate a multi-sensorynotification. In an embodiment, the alert signal specifies at least oneattribute characterizing the sensory notification. In an embodiment, thealert signal specifies a message component to be included in the sensorynotification by the at least one event detector. In an embodiment, thebase station generates an alert signal adapted to cause a subset of theone or more event detectors to generate sensory notifications.

At step 830, the base station forwards the alert signal to at least onemonitor device among the one or more monitoring devices to transmit ontothe common interconnect coupled to the one or more event detectors. Thealert signal of step 830 causing the at least one event detector togenerate a sensory notification in response to receiving the alertsignal via the common interconnect. In an embodiment, a second eventdetector not among the subset of the one or more event detectorsrefrains from generating sensory notifications in response to receivingthe alert signal via the common interconnect.

At optional step 840, the base station transmits a confirmation messagein response to forwarding the alert signal to the at least one monitordevice. In an embodiment, the base station confirms that the at leastone event detector generated the sensory notification requested by theremote client prior to transmitting the confirmation message. In anembodiment, the base station transmits the confirmation message to theremote client sending the alert instruction. In an embodiment, themonitor device transmits the confirmation message to a remote serviceassociated with the remote client.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example cloud-based server900 that may be used in accordance with the present disclosure. Asdiscussed above with respect to FIG. 1 , cloud-based server 900 mayprovide infrastructure services, platform services, and softwareapplication services. In an embodiment, cloud-based server 900 is usedto implement at least a portion of server 140 in FIGS. 1 and 2 . Theinfrastructure services may include virtualized resources, such asvirtual machines, virtual storage, and so on. The infrastructureservices may also include virtualized services, such as databaseservices and others. Each of these infrastructure services may bedeployed in an infrastructure service layer 920.

The scale and various aspects, such as data, connectivity, anddependency relationships within and between service components, of aninfrastructure service deployment are configurable by an administratoruser. For instance, the administrator user may submit a configurationspecification to cloud-based server 900 via a frontend interface 950 andservice manager 960. The configuration specification can be translatedinto infrastructure and kernel level APIs calls that create, re-create,move, or delete components such as virtual machines and services, andassign or change attributes of the components.

In addition to the infrastructure services, cloud-based server 900 mayalso provide platform services, such as an environment for runningvirtual machines or a framework for developing and launching aparticular type of software applications. The platform services may beimplemented in a platform service layer 930 over the infrastructureservice layer #20, and may employ one or more infrastructure servicesconfigured in a particular manner. Configuration of platform servicescan be accomplished by program code written according to the APIs of theplatform services and, optionally, the APIs of the infrastructureservices that are employed in enabling the platform services.

In some examples, cloud-based server 900 may also provide softwareapplication services in an application service layer 940. A softwareapplication can be installed on one or more virtual machines or deployedin an application framework in the platform service layer 930. Thesoftware application can also communicate with one or moreinfrastructure service components, such as databases, in theinfrastructure layer 920. The installation and configuration of thesoftware application in the application service layer 940 can beaccomplished through APIs of the software itself and the APIs of theunderlying platform and infrastructure service components.

Depending on the type of services, a cloud-service user may be granteddifferent levels of control in configuring the services. For example, ifa software application service is employed, an administrator user isgiven control over how the software application is configured. If aplatform service is employed, an administrative user is given controlover how the platform and/or application frameworks are configured.Similarly, if infrastructure services are employed, an administrativeuser is given control over the particular infrastructure servicesemployed.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an example general purpose computingsystem 1000 in which embodiments of the invention may be implemented. Asdepicted, computing system 1000 includes bus 1010 that directly orindirectly couples the following components: memory 1020, one or moreprocessors 1030, I/O interface 1040, and network interface 1050. Bus1010 is configured to communicate, transmit, and transfer data,controls, and commands between the various components of computingsystem 1000

Computing system 1000 typically includes a variety of computer-readablemedia. Computer-readable media can be any available media that isaccessible by computing system 1000 and includes both volatile andnonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. Computer-readablemedia may comprise both computer storage media and communication media.Computer storage media does not comprise, and in fact explicitlyexcludes, signals per se.

Computer storage media includes volatile and nonvolatile, removable andnon-removable, tangible and non-transient media, implemented in anymethod or technology for storage of information such ascomputer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules orother data. Computer storage media includes RAM; ROM; EE-PROM; flashmemory or other memory technology; CD-ROMs; DVDs or other optical diskstorage; magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices; or other mediums or computer storagedevices which can be used to store the desired information and which canbe accessed by computing system 1000.

Communication media typically embodies computer-readable instructions,data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated datasignal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includesany information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means asignal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed insuch a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example,communication media includes wired media, such as a wired network ordirect-wired connection, and wireless media, such as acoustic, RF,infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the aboveshould also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

Memory 1020 includes computer-storage media in the form of volatileand/or nonvolatile memory. The memory may be removable, non-removable,or a combination thereof. Memory 1020 may be implemented using hardwaredevices such as solid-state memory, hard drives, optical-disc drives,and the like. Computing system 1000 also includes one or more processors1030 that read data from various entities such as memory 1020, I/Ointerface 1040, and network interface 1050.

I/O interface 1040 enables computing system 1000 to communicate withdifferent peripherals, such as a display, a keyboard, a mouse, etc. I/Ointerface 1040 is configured to coordinate I/O traffic between memory1020, the one or more processors 1030, network interface 1050, and anyperipherals. Network interface 1050 enables computing system 1000 toexchange data with other computing devices (e.g. monitor device 120,server 140, and client device 160 of FIG. 1 ) via any suitable network(e.g. network 150).

FIGS. 11-12 depict waveform diagrams of conventional interconnectsignals propagated by event detectors on a common interconnect. FIG. 11depicts an example of an interconnect signal 1100 propagated on a commoninterconnect by conventional smoke event detectors. A conventional smokeevent detector generates an interconnect signal similar to interconnectsignal 1100 in response to detecting a smoke event. As shown by FIG. 11, interconnect signal 1100 transitions from a first voltage (e.g. 9volts DC) to a second voltage (e.g. 0 volts DC) in response to detectingthe smoke event. In response to sensing that transition from the firstvoltage to the second voltage, all conventional smoke event detectorscoupled to the common interconnect will generate a sensory notification.Upon receiving an acknowledgement of the smoke event, interconnectsignal 1100 transitions from the second voltage to the first voltage.

FIG. 12 depicts an example of an interconnect signal 1200 propagated ona common interconnect by conventional carbon monoxide event detectors. Aconventional carbon monoxide event detectors generates an interconnectsignal similar to interconnect signal 1200 in response to detecting acarbon monoxide event. As shown by FIG. 12 , unlike interconnect signal1100, interconnect signal 1200 indicates detection of a carbon monoxideevent with using a sequence of electrical pulses. In response to sensingthat sequence of electrical pulses, all conventional carbon monoxideevent detectors coupled to the common interconnect will generate asensory notification. FIGS. 13A-13C depict various embodiments ofaspects of a monitor device 130 as described above with respect to FIG.4 . FIG. 13A discloses a circuit connected in parallel to commoninterconnect 120. In embodiments, the circuit of FIG. 13A has twoportions as represented by the dashed line. The top portion is thedetecting portion that detects a signal. The bottom portion is a signalinjecting portion that injects a signal back onto common interconnect120. The injected signal can emulate an event signal, e.g., a smokedetection event, or can inject another signal that is processed by thedetecting portion to cause, e.g., the detecting portion to take someaction such as to send out a signal over wireless transceiver 1306. Inother embodiments, a monitor device may only have an event detectingportion and not an injecting portion. In other embodiments, a monitordevice may only have an injection portion that monitors for signalsincoming over wireless interface 1306 and outputs a signal on the commoninterconnect 120.

In an embodiment, a signal that is output onto common interconnect 120by an event detector is received by input buffer 1312 a. Buffer 1312 acould be an isolation device such as optical isolation, buffercircuitry, analog or digital radio receiver and transmitter. The outputfrom buffer 1312 a is input into signal translator 1308 a. SignalTranslator 1310 a could be, for example, a voltage step up/down, radiomixer, an analog to digital convertor, or any other device thattranslates a signal received on the common interconnect 120 into asignal that can be processed by a signal analyzer 1302. Signal analyzer1302 can be hardware, e.g., a gate array, or software operating on aprocessor, such as a digital signal processor. Signal analyzer 1302determines whether the signal matches a known pattern. In response todetermining that a signal matches a known pattern, signal analyzer 1302can cause a signal to be output over wireless interface 1306. The signaloutput over 1306 may be a signal that indicates to other devices that anevent was detected on a particular common interconnect 120.

In embodiments, another portion of the circuit of FIG. 13A comprises thesignal injector portion of the circuit. The signal injector portioncomprises a signal creator 1304. Signal creator 1302 could share some orall of the hardware of signal analyzer 1302. For example, they may bothreside on the same processor. Signal creator 1304 outputs a signal thatis translated by signal translator 1310 a. Signal translator maycomprise, for example, a digital to analog converter, that outputs ananalog signal that is processed by buffer 1314 a and injected back ontocommon interconnect 120.

In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13B, the circuit can beinstalled in series. In that case, buffer 1312 a would receive a signalarriving on one portion of the common interconnect 120 and process thesignal as described with respect to FIG. 13A. In this embodiment, thecommon interconnect 120 is not continuous, e.g., it was broken duringthe installation of the circuit. In this embodiment, the could be asecond portion of the circuit comprising, signal translators 1308 b,1310 b, buffers 1312 b and 1314 b. In this configuration, adetermination could be made regarding the direction of the signalreceived on common interconnect 120. Similarly, the direction that thesignal is injected onto common interconnect 120 can also be controlled.

In another embodiment, the circuit could comprise passive components. Anexample embodiment is illustrated with respect to FIG. 13C. In thatexample embodiment, a series of, e.g., resistors 131 ba, 1318 b, and1318 c are provided. The signal analyzer 1302 is connected between theresistors and can determine from which direction a signal is arriving.In addition to the foregoing configurations and embodiments, otherembodiments may combine aspects of both passive and active components.For example, an active signal injector circuit may be combined with apassive signal detection circuit.

It should be understood that the various techniques described herein maybe implemented in connection with hardware or software or, whereappropriate, with a combination of both. The subject matter presentedherein may be implemented as a computer process, a computer-controlledapparatus or a computing system or an article of manufacture, such as acomputer-readable storage medium. The techniques, or certain aspects orportions thereof, may, for example, take the form of program code (i.e.,instructions) embodied in tangible storage media or memory mediaimplemented as storage devices, such as magnetic or optical media,volatile or non-volatile media, such as RAM (e.g., SDRAM, DDR SDRAM,RDRAM, SRAM, etc.), ROM, etc., that may be included in computing devicesor accessible by computing devices. When the program code is loaded intoand executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine becomes anapparatus for practicing the disclosure. In the case of program codeexecution on programmable computers, the computing device generallyincludes a processor, a storage medium readable by the processor(including volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements), atleast one input device, and at least one output device.

One or more programs that may implement or utilize the processesdescribed in connection with the disclosure, e.g., through the use of anapplication programming interface (API), reusable controls, or the like.Such programs are preferably implemented in a high level procedural orobject oriented programming language to communicate with a computersystem. However, the program(s) can be implemented in assembly ormachine language, if desired. In any case, the language may be acompiled or interpreted language, and combined with hardwareimplementations.

Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can,” “could,”“might,” “may,” “e.g.,” and the like, unless specifically statedotherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, isgenerally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, whileother embodiments do not include, certain features, elements, and/orsteps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended toimply that features, elements and/or steps are in any way required forone or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarilyinclude logic for deciding, with or without author input or prompting,whether these features, elements and/or steps are included or are to beperformed in any particular embodiment. The terms “comprising,”“including,” “having,” and the like are synonymous and are usedinclusively, in an open-ended fashion, and do not exclude additionalelements, features, acts, operations, and so forth. Also, the term “or”is used in its inclusive sense (and not in its exclusive sense) so thatwhen used, for example, to connect a list of elements, the term “or”means one, some, or all of the elements in the list.

The present disclosure describes particular embodiments and theirdetailed construction and operation. The embodiments described hereinare set forth by way of illustration only and not limitation. Thoseskilled in the art will recognize, in light of the teachings herein,that there may be a range of equivalents to the exemplary embodimentsdescribed herein. Most notably, other embodiments are possible,variations can be made to the embodiments described herein, and theremay be equivalents to the components, parts, or steps that make up thedescribed embodiments. For the sake of clarity and conciseness, certainaspects of components or steps of certain embodiments are presentedwithout undue detail where such detail would be apparent to thoseskilled in the art in light of the teachings herein and/or where suchdetail would obfuscate an understanding of more pertinent aspects of theembodiments.

The terms and descriptions used above are set forth by way ofillustration only and are not meant as limitations. Those skilled in theart will recognize that those and many other variations, enhancementsand modifications of the concepts described herein are possible withoutdeparting from the underlying principles of the invention. The scope ofthe invention should therefore be determined only by the followingclaims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is: 1-20. (canceled)
 21. A system comprising: aplurality of event detectors, each event detector comprising a radiofrequency detector, an optical isolation device and a signal translator;a receiver configured to receive interconnect signals via one or moreoptical isolation devices of the plurality of event detectors; a basestation, in communication with the receiver, to generate interconnectdata and interconnect metadata, associated with at least one of theplurality of event detectors, according to the interconnect signals anda sensor that is proximate to the plurality of event detectors; and atransmitter configured to transmit the interconnect data to a computingdevice via a network interface, wherein: each optical isolation deviceallows a transmission of light in only one direction, the interconnectmetadata indicates a history of false alerts, and the sensor isconfigured to measure a physical quantity associated with a physicalenvironment proximate to the plurality of event detectors.
 22. Thesystem of claim 21, wherein the interconnect data associated with anevent detector comprises one or more of an alert status, an operationalstatus, and an identifier.
 23. The system of claim 21, wherein theprocessor generates the interconnect metadata, according to secondarydata associated with the interconnect signals, to provide context to theinterconnect data.
 24. The system of claim 23, wherein the secondarydata comprises sensor data provided by sensors unassociated with theplurality of event detectors.
 25. The system of claim 23, wherein thesecondary data comprises information from a first event detector that isrelevant to a second event detector.
 26. The system of claim 21, whereinthe computing device comprises a virtual computing device operating on aserver.
 27. The system of claim 21, wherein the transmitter comprises awireless transmitter.
 28. A method comprising: receiving interconnectsignals via one or more optical isolation devices in a plurality ofevent detectors, each event detector comprising a radio frequencydetector, an optical isolation device and a signal translator;generating, via a base station in communication with the receiver,interconnect data and interconnect metadata, associated with at leastone of the plurality of event detectors, according to the interconnectsignals and a sensor that is proximate to the plurality of eventdetectors; and transmitting the interconnect data to a computing devicevia a network interface, wherein: each optical isolation device allows atransmission of light in only one direction, the interconnect metadataindicates a history of false alerts, and the sensor is configured tomeasure a physical quantity associated with a physical environmentproximate to the plurality of event detectors.
 29. The method of claim28, wherein the interconnect data associated with an event detectorcomprises one or more of an alert status, an operational status, and anidentifier.
 30. The method of claim 28, wherein the interconnectmetadata is generated according to secondary data associated with theinterconnect signals, to provide context to the interconnect data. 31.The method of claim 30, wherein the secondary data comprises sensor dataprovided by sensors unassociated with the plurality of event detectors.32. The method of claim 30, wherein the secondary data comprisesinformation from a first event detector that is relevant to a secondevent detector.
 33. The method of claim 28, wherein the computing devicecomprises a virtual computing device operating on a server.
 34. Themethod of claim 28, wherein the transmitting comprises wirelesslytransmitting.